Buildout Facts
Rick Swanson Retracts School’s Flyer Regarding Build Out Rates
Rick Swanson, a partner of Westminster Swanson, issued a letter of clarification on the flyer the school district sent home with the children last week. This flyer gave misleading information regarding the build-out rates of Terra Cotta, Tall Grass, and Preston Pines developments. (Please see the LINKS section to the right for Swanson’s original letter and Swanson's retraction letter)
The build out rate is critical to both the schools and the community as a whole. If the school district’s projections on the build out rate are incorrect, (i.e., slower than their estimates) our taxes will go up.
Swanson Clarifies Build Out Rates
At a special meeting of the Village of Prairie Grove on Monday, March 5, 2006, Rick Swanson shared more of the build out rates of Terra Cotta and Tall Grass developments (Preston Pines is being developed by Ryland Homes). Portions of the school’s flyer are quoted below. This information is countered with Swanson’s own words. Also quoted is the school’s and village’s engineer, Pat Bleck.
What the schools said:
“More than 700 students are coming from the 3 developments. We are currently near capacity.” The schools are basing their models on a total build out of 7 years.
What they did not tell you:
Rick Swanson, the developer of Tall Grass and Terra Cotta, estimated that it would take 10-15 years to fully build out the water, sewer, and housing for the developments.
Currently, the class sizes average 19.4 – 26.8 students per classroom for each grade level. By strategically adding an average 2.75 children per classroom per grade level will allow us to accommodate 150 additional students. A temporary sacrifice to allow the community to make the right decisions, find a better way, and save millions of dollars in future costs.
Terra Cotta – D46 students will come from 228 single family homes with a build out rate of 8-15 years.
What the schools said:
Terra Cotta (estimate 186 students):
“… Final approval in the fall (2006)… we anticipate that we will start earth work on the site in the Fall and begin requesting building permits shortly thereafter.”
What they did not tell you:
Rick Swanson stated that most of the construction (for Terra Cotta) will be on the west side of Illinois Rt. 31 and therefore in district 47.
He also believed it does not appear likely any single-family construction will occur until at least late 2007 or early 2008 in District 46.
Pat Bleck, the village engineer stated that it typically takes 9-18 months for engineering approvals from preliminary plat. Therefore, he estimates the developer will not start construction on roads water and sewer for Terra Cotta and Tall Grass developments until spring of 2007. Terra Cotta is only at conceptual approval (the step before preliminary approval). The clock has not even started to tick.
Other Useful Facts
- Of the 1346 units of the Terra Cotta development only 228 units will bring children into the D46 school district.
- 162 of the 228 units are “1 acre lots. Rick Swanson of Westminster Swanson, stated these are custom homes, like “Timberhill” subdivision, which has build out only 52 of the 97 lots in over 8 years. He expects a similar absorption rate of 54% in 8 years. These will be the last units to start construction in the Terra Cotta Development.
- The remaining 66 units will be built out like “Oak Grove” which has a built out 70 of 95 lots in 7 years, an absorption rate of 74% in 7 years.
To sum up the Terra Cotta Development as it relates to D46
1. The homes in D46 will be the last to be built in the Terra Cotta Development.
2. Building of homes in D46 is not projected to start until 2008. (Furthermore, based upon the above information, we feel this is an aggressive start date.)
3. Homes built in D46 will be similar to Timberhill and Oak Grove subdivisions and have similar build out rates (7-8 years for 50% to 70% completion).
Tall Grass - 644 units, 156 townhomes, 226 “villas”, and 262 single family homes. Approximately, 85% - 90% of the D46 students will come from the single family homes.
What the schools said:
Tall Grass (estimate 328 students):
We “… anticipate being before the Village Board” in the summer (2006) for final approval… to break ground and start construction in the early fall of 2006.”
What they did not tell you:
Pat Bleck the village engineer stated that it typically takes 9-18 months for engineering approvals after preliminary plat approval. Tall Grass has not received preliminary plat approval. Therefore, Bleck estimates the developer will not start construction on roads and water and sewer for the developments until spring of 2007.
The school district itself has budgeted $250,000 for a “temporary” septic fields because they do not anticipate the water and sewer will be available by the opening of the planned school in the fall of 2007. Another option is the use of “Holding Tanks” to pump the sewage until the sewer is available in lieu of a septic field. Either way the schools do not anticipate water and sewer to be available for the proposed school in the fall of 2007.
Furthermore, Rick Swanson stated that he does not now have a buyer for the properties. Westminster Swanson business is securing entitlements. He sells property to other developers, who in turn pay to build roads, water, sewer etc. Swanson does not build anything - No buyer - no roads.
Housing Type and Number of Students
- The townhomes will bring almost no children to the school district.
- 262 units are $600,000 and up single family homes with an absorption rate that will be slower than the Oak Grove subdivision mentioned above. More than 85% of the children will come from this portion of the development.
- The 226 villas will bring the remaining 10%-15% of the children to the school district.
The type of product which is built first in the development will have the biggest impact to the rate of children the district will be receiving over the next 10 years.
To paraphrase Rick further … you don’t just throw seed out and the buildings sprout up.
To sum up the Tall Grass Development as it relates to D46
By the spring of 2008, there will be a limited and than gradual impact to D46 based on water, road, and building product.
Preston Pines Crystal Lake
What the schools said:
Preston Pines (estimate 195 students):
Anticipate receiving “approval of the final plans and begin earthwork this summer. It would be anticipated from that schedule that our first closing would be the second quarter of 2007.”
What they did not tell you:
The developer is requesting only 16 single family lots in district 46 for final plat approval as part of the first phase of the development. 18-25 children in the fall 2007 / winter 2008 will enroll in the D46 as part of this development. The developer is also requesting 89 townhome units as part of the first phase. The townhomes will bring almost no children to the district.
To sum up the Preston Pines Development as it relates to D46
By the winter of 2008, there will be 18-25 students, with the remainder of the students in subsequent phases of the development.
In Summary:
The school district was invited to attend the informational meeting at the Village. They declined. They want you to believe the shareholder is better informed from “cherry picked” quotes from a “retracted” letter, than from a two hour informational meeting with the developer, the village, and the public. (Will they send out the retracted letter in the students’ backpacks?)
Will the students come? Yes, but not in the time frame projected by the schools. Why should you care? Because if the homes, do not materialize in the projected time frame the EAV’s and impact fees will not materialize either. We will still however have an $18 million “tax free” loan to repay.
The timing of the building of the school will have serious repercussions on the district. Part of the reason to vote no, is to have more time and have full access to all information available to make an informed decision. If the school district would just provide all the information and stop spreading fear, the community could fashion a more prudent and fiscally sound way to handle the growth in our community and in the school district. Is that to much to ask?
posted by Candidate at
9:40 PM
17 Comments:
Mr. Breseman, you are consistent.
First it was your illegal threats to the school to hold impact fees hostage if they did not give up the right of way on Rt.176 which YOU demanded. Then you illegally threaten to hold the land hostage. Why all the abuse and destruction when you could simply grab the right of away on the north side of 176 as it goes commercial?
What is your problem? Why the arrogance? Why the ongoing, unrelenting ax to grind with our schools? Will you stop at anything to get your way? The school had to spend countless, unnecessary hours in meetings, hire consultants and spend thousands of dollars defending your personal attack. I’m tired of your arrogance and spending my tax dollars on your personal agenda!
Now you have the audacity to host a public meeting last Monday stating the purpose “is to allow the greater community to plan for the impact of these developments over the coming years.” What nonsense! The bottom line is the letter the schools sent out on Friday quoting Rick Swanson caught you off guard. The letter created a hurdle in your plan to kill the referendum. So you immediately called and asked Swanson to rescind the letter, which he declined. Then Duda threatens Rick Swanson with “read between the lines” emails to be in our village hall on Monday with virtually no notice. Now you have the consultants, Swanson and the NW Herald as your captive audience. Then you carry on with your political game of “catch” with Rick Swanson….I’ll ask the questions Rick, you just answer them. Swanson is a smart man and did a great job being your pawn because he had no choice. He has millions of dollars at stake and needs to maintain positive relationships with our village officials to keep his developments on track. Regardless of your personal agenda, he needs to side with you because his personal agenda is to sell land to developers as quickly as possible.
I want to see the agenda that was published for this meeting. I want to see the prior meeting minutes showing that “exaggerated growth” has ever been a topic of a village meeting. I know there isn’t any because you took your personal agenda to the village hall. Your self-serving, unethical leadership, abuse of power and illegal use of taxpayer’s money to fulfill your personal agenda is going to stop. I am not going to allow my tax dollars pay for professional consultants to support your personal agenda to bury our schools. The States Attorney has been contacted and investigations on your ethics will follow. Enough is enough.
By
Anonymous, at 8:38 PM
To anonymous who said "Enough is enough". What a sad comment on our community that we have resorted to personal attacks. Both the village and district need to put egos aside and focus ONLY on what it best for the children.
If D46 was open and honest, they should have had Mr. Swanson at their information sessions to talk about the build out timelines. It seems every time we look into D46's claims/assumptions/numbers, we find we are being mislead. Not necessarily lied to, but purposely misled. Donated land? Keeping the bond and interest tax rate at $0.24? Swanson's letter is the latest proof of that. Sure we need to expand the school but D46 seems to be in panic mode which can lead to poor finanical decisions that will affect the district for years to come. Just look around to see the result of poor financial decisions...the kids are the losers.
Blindly following what D46 says does not mean you are more for the schools than anyone else. We all need to be sure to make the right decision and we need to truth. Rather than threaten either the village or the school, let's encourage each side to work with the other to be sure the community gets the truth.
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Anonymous, at 6:10 AM
I am amused that someone would take all that time writing to this blog just to spew retoric. Whoever authored the blog at 10:38 p.m. last night, how about some facts ? You act as though you have gottten your hand caught in the cookie jar and now cannot get it out ! The public deserves straight answers about build out and growth. Period. The fact that people are questioning the referendum is the correct course of action. The days of rubber stamping school referendums are over. The public is tired of the mis-mangagement of our childrens future.
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Anonymous, at 6:25 AM
Rest assure your tax dollars have not been wasted. As part of the annexation agreement, Swanson's group pays all retained personnel in regards to his developments.
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Anonymous, at 7:25 AM
WOW! Now I understand why most posts are anonymous.
This 10:38 post is so full of venomous emotion and no facts.
I don't live in the village, but do pay taxes to District 46.
Why become hostile when the facts regarding these developments, the school's financials, or the true cost to taxpayers are discussed in open public sessions?
The school has info sessions and the village has info sessions. Everyone has an opportunity to attend and speak. Fine, let's discuss the facts.
I'm trying to understand the facts and all this petty arguing is just a distraction. Or, is it meant to distract me?
Sincerely,
I'll just stay anonymous because I'm not as brave as the individuals whose names are mentioned in the 10:38 post.
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Anonymous, at 7:31 AM
To Mike Bresman,
Stay the course! The meeting on Monday was a community service. The misguided person who posted that spew does not want the truth. He/she wants to blindly believe what D46 says. Based on how the last referendum turned out, we cannot trust D46 to do what they advertise so we need to get the facts of what they are proposing.
I agree with the other blogger who said that blindly following D46 does not mean you are more for the schools than anyone who questions something.
The personal attacks have to stop. There should not be attacks on Fasbender, Todd, or Bresman or anyone else. Let's talk about what is best for the children!
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Anonymous, at 7:42 AM
Dear 10:38pm:
I am not only pro-school….I am pro-“great” school; and, I am willing to do my fair share to get one. I want smaller parent-teacher ratios in classrooms, better academics and activities, improved safety and a beautiful campus to demonstrate why our community is a great place to live and work. In order to achieve this vision for a great school, it must not only offer an outstanding environment for learning…but, a great school is also financially sound. Great schools have outstanding leadership and make prudent decisions based on reality. Great schools are wonderful for real estate values and future appreciation. They are wonderful for our children’s future.
Your post above is eerily similar to the post from Mr. Huerth (Steve Todd) last week in another part of this blog. It is filled with accusations, personal attacks and misleading information. After reading your statements carefully, I believe you are suggesting that the community should blindly “trust” school leadership. You seem to be highly offended that an elected official is seeking reality based information to help citizens make an informed choice. Do I have this correct?
You also seem to accuse the developer, Rick Swanson, as being a mindless “pawn” that is being forced to answer questions in a manner that is inconsistent with his expert opinion. Take a deep breath “Dear 10:38pm - Mr. Huerth (Steve Todd)”…do you really think Mr. Swanson would provide misleading information that might slow down the development of a village “show-piece” and benefit the value of our homes (and his new home development). Mr. Swanson is a businessman with a large vested stake in our community and understands that a bankrupt school is bad business for everyone.
“Dear 10:38pm Mr. Huerth (Steve Todd)” lets get to the real truth so we can make the best decisions for our community. Help me, and the rest of District 46 answer the following questions:
Why has District 46 school leadership misled the public by deciding not to disclose to the community that the revenue collected from the last referendum exceeded what was approved by taxpayers? Defending her position, Dr. Fasbender stated publicly that the decision not to disclose the unapproved tax windfall to District 46 taxpayers was based on advice she received from her consultants. Are Dr. Fasbender and the school board exercising good judgment relating to the use of public taxes? Do our leaders need to demonstrate a higher level of accountability?
Whose assumptions are the school leaders using to support their current referendum plan? How old are the assumptions? The developer seems like the most knowledgeable source for the build-out…why would you attack the developer’s information as of Monday this week? Why attack his personal and business competence? Do you believe that the developer does not want a prosperous community with outstanding schools to support his investment?
Why have school officials not been open and forthcoming with all of their assumptions and information? Do they believe that the community is not capable of understanding? Or, would the information used to support the referendum, if fully exposed, explained and reconciled with the experts possibly highlight that the referendum plan is not a prudent move at this point in time?
Why attack the NW Herald as being in the back pocket of an elected official? It seems that everyone/anyone that simply questions your position is part of an evil conspiracy. I hope this is not the environment that the school board operates in during its closed door meetings.
Why is questioning assumptions and seeking the truth an “unrelenting ax to grind with our schools”? I do not understand why any leader would be opposed to open forums and the opinions of experts with a vested interest in our community.
“Dear 10:38pm Mr. Huerth (Steve Todd)”, I have one more question and an answer:
Q: How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg?
A: Four; calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg…. Abraham Lincoln
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Anonymous, at 7:45 AM
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Anonymous, at 7:54 AM
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Anonymous, at 7:55 AM
The previous message was deleted because it was deemed to be redundant. The purpose of having individual threads is to keep the comments on a particular topic. Because you've chosen to repost the comment and because we believe in equal time to both sides of the discussion I'm going to leave your post. However, if you continue to post each of your comments in every thread, I will begin to moderate the comments prior to them posting to the site. We’ve created a platform for you to voice your opinion, try to do it respectfully.
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Candidate, at 9:32 AM
It is to bad that we have individuals that want this to happen this year and are so blinded they have to attack before the think. It sound like some individuals on the school board have not only completely lost there minds but now for them to threaten that they are coming after the village of prairie grove.... YOUR KIDDING ME RIGHT? Do you all realize the slow down in real estate... Allen Greenspan himself has made it VERY clear that NEW Real Estate sales have and are expected to slow down dramatically. What doe this mean? Take you blinders off Steve Todd, Mary Fasbender, and Mrs. Damoto. You guys are making it seem like you are getting hundreds of kids over the next two years. Take your time. Do not rush. When you rush mistakes are made. WHEN MISTAKES ARE MADE THAT COSTS TAX PAYERS MONEY. You have a good think going... don't screw it up.
I know there is not one person here that does not see the need for additional space at the school in the future. But there are alternatives to jumping the gun to building a brand new school. The new school is NOT the answer for this year. Please keep in mind that we can add on to the existing school. We can use the dreaded mobile class rooms as well to get us by until we are sure how this is going to roll out. No matter what happens the teachers are the ones teaching out kids not the class room. They do not need the MEGA Dream School... We need to have Mega Dream Teachers. They are the ones that will make a difference not an empty school.
It seems that the timing of this also does not coincide with the fact that water will not be at this site as soon as you thing. According to your own engineer he is not confident that water will be at this site by the time you want to have a school built. This additional unneeded costs to this project. Over $250,000 in fact of extra wasted money. Just to get a "Temporary Septic system". This system is temporary ... but the cost would be here to stay. I am sorry this seems like poor planning to me. Did anybody ask the question about what happens to the land that you plan to install a NEW septic system on? It become unusable... well unusable unless you wan to waste more money cleaning up the septic site. This would be more money to clean up most likely than it would be to install the NEW septic system in the first place.
It would be nice if we could just get true facts instead of unclear & misguided fliers and information from the school. If they could have been clear and concise from the start I am sure the second guessing would probably not be a factor. But since some of this District 46 board has felt it is so important to get this done with out think of the MAJOR RISKS... I can not support saying yes to this. You are counting on futures and you can not count on this project rolling out as fast as you think it will. These homes are not $200,00 track homes... these homes are different. The not only are not track homes they do take long since they are more of a custom home. Your bullish vision on this is only taking everything down with the 46 board and that your approach is "mess with us ... and we are coming after you through the states attorney". We are in a sink or swim situation here. The District 46 Board can either swim with everyone or you can continue your hard nosed approach of not hearing the fact... if this is the approach you will sinking all of the communities around you by getting us in to deeper financial problems. That is not good since who ever is making the financial decisions over the past few years has pulled us further down into a position that recently put us into a "Alert Mode" with the state. Good job folks... this is why we do not trust you.
VOTE NO to poor spending habits. Vote NO to building a school NOW. We need to wait a year and look at this next year.
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Anonymous, at 12:38 PM
When you add up the number of students according the developers' projections, it seems in 2007-2008 we can expect 18-25 from the 3 developments. D46 is showing 101 students in 2007 from these 3 developments. Also, the developers indicate a more gradual growth of 8-12 years while D46 is basing their decision on 7 years.
How did D46 do its projections? D46's slides show an even number of students (141) for each year starting in 2007. Their projection of an even distribution of growth seems simplistic and unrealistic.
This is a major issue as to when we need a new building. If we hold off for a couple of years, we will be in better financial shape to afford a new building.
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Anonymous, at 1:25 PM
Class sizes of Crystal Lake Elem. Schools and Prairie Grove Elem. School - 2005
C.L.--------------(K)---(1st)----(3rd)-----Total
Canterbury-----22.7----17.0-----22.8----460
Coventry-------16.4----17.6-----23.5----547
Glacier Rdg----19.1----22.4-----24.0----824
Husman--------20.7----21.5-----26.0----569
Indian Pr-------26.3----25.2-----26.8----773
North Elem-----23.7----28.8-----26.0----861
South Elem-----20.0----20.7-----25.7----514
West Elem------19.2----24.6-----26.4----690
Woods Creek---25.6----26.5-----25.6----821
Prairie Grove---20.8----19.2-----25.8----671
These numbers are from the Illinois Interactive Report Card website - view the School Profile for Parents
It seems there's quite a bit of room to absorb students in the current classes. D46's definition of "Near capacity" has a broad meaning when compared to class sizes of neighboring schools.
Point of interest -
Woods Creek Elementary School of Crystal Lake has one of the largest average class sizes and the best tests scores of all the schools.
Point of interest -
Note the enrollment of all the schools. D46 is proposing to build an elementary school across two adjacent buildings of 1400 students. Make sense? Most communities build elementary schools closer to the children.
Has anyone considered how long the bus ride will be for kindergarteners and first graders to get to the 1400 student campus?
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Anonymous, at 4:44 PM
Intersting numbers above. I have not seen anyone compair numbers like this yet. Could you please post the website address for Illinois Interactive Report card.
Regarding the bus ride length... The bus fleet would increase to cover additional children. So I would not be over concerned about this. If anything that is additional expense in the future that the schools would already have plans for.
Thanks.
Vote NO
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Anonymous, at 7:16 AM
The Interactive Illinois Report Card can be found at
http://iirc.niu.edu/
If you search for schools sorted by cities, you'll find Prairie Grove School D46 listed with the Crystal Lake Schools.
Good luck
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Anonymous, at 7:53 AM
The school’s leadership has maintained that their assumptions are based on a conservative build-out of the three new sub-divisions. Do these assumptions stand up to a test of common sense? Why not use actual projections from experts instead of a theoretical model? Here is how Dr. Fasbender’s assumptions compare to the projections of involved experts:
• Logically, property developers are motivated to build out quickly and increase the rate of return for their investment. Further, property developers also benefit from a "showcase school building" since educational opportunities are a key factor for many home buyers. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that a developer’s projected build out would be aggressive. However, in this situation the developer is much less aggressive on the build-out rate than Dr. Fasbender and school administration. Why? The difference is so large that Rick Swanson, the developer of Tall Grass and Terra Cotta, stated publicly that it may take 10-15 years to fully build out the water, sewer, and housing for the developments. Compare this to the Dr. Fasbender’s assumption of a 7 year build-out. Despite information available from the actual developer, Dr. Fasbender has elected to not consider this in the school's official projections. Do we need to add capacity for 700 students immediately and take on high risk debt now? Or, should we eliminate overcrowding within our credit limits and add 9 classrooms before building a new school? Furthermore, Rick Swanson stated that he does not now have a buyer for the properties. He sells property to other developers, who in turn pay to build roads, water, and sewer. Mr. Swanson will not build anything without buyers. Simply, “No buyer - no roads”….”no homes – no students”.
• The school's consistent and unyielding position on the build-out projection is based on a "mysterious" theoretical model. Why is a theoretical model (used by Dr. Fasbender) better than the projections of experts? Not using expert opinion on this matter raises a question of trust. Dr. Fasbender maintains that 1/7th of all of the students that will be ultimately added, as a result of all the new developments, will report to school in the fall of 2007. This is in stark contrast to Pat Bleck, Prairie Grove’s village engineer, estimating that it will take 9-18 months for engineering approvals after preliminary plat approval. At this point Tall Grass has not even received preliminary plat approval. Therefore, Bleck estimates the developer will not start construction on roads, water and sewer for the developments until at least spring of 2007. Will 1/7th of all the new houses be started, completed and sold before the first day of school (Fall) in 2007? Why would a rationale person believe that this is a reasonable assumption?
I get the feeling that the real issues on the table are much larger than the referendum. What are the real issues? Are elected officials acting in a manner that demonstrates accountability and trust? Are hired school officials, such as Dr. Fasbender, acting in a manner that is consistent with the values and beliefs of District 46 citizens? Can we trust a school official that chooses not to disclose information which is relevant, material and important to citizens? Can we really trust school administration that has increased spending by nearly 70% in 6 years? During the same 6 year period, when school spending increased by 70%, Dr. Fasbender (and the elected school board) failed to disloce to the tax paying community a tax windfall. Does this suggest trustworthy leadership?
This is a very important referendum...it is time to send a message.
By
Anonymous, at 9:12 PM
The school’s leadership has maintained that their assumptions are based on a conservative build-out of the three new sub-divisions. Do these assumptions stand up to a test of common sense? Why not use actual projections from experts instead of a theoretical model? Here is how Dr. Fasbender’s assumptions compare to the projections of involved experts:
• Logically, property developers are motivated to build out quickly and increase the rate of return for their investment. Further, property developers also benefit from a "showcase school building" since educational opportunities are a key factor for many home buyers. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that a developer’s projected build out would be aggressive. However, in this situation the developer is much less aggressive on the build-out rate than Dr. Fasbender and school administration. Why? The difference is so large that Rick Swanson, the developer of Tall Grass and Terra Cotta, stated publicly that it may take 10-15 years to fully build out the water, sewer, and housing for the developments. Compare this to the Dr. Fasbender’s assumption of a 7 year build-out. Despite information available from the actual developer, Dr. Fasbender has elected to not consider this in the school's official projections. Do we need to add capacity for 700 students immediately and take on high risk debt now? Or, should we eliminate overcrowding within our credit limits and add 9 classrooms before building a new school? Furthermore, Rick Swanson stated that he does not now have a buyer for the properties. He sells property to other developers, who in turn pay to build roads, water, and sewer. Mr. Swanson will not build anything without buyers. Simply, “No buyer - no roads”….”no homes – no students”.
• The school's consistent and unyielding position on the build-out projection is based on a "mysterious" theoretical model. Why is a theoretical model (used by Dr. Fasbender) better than the projections of experts? Not using expert opinion on this matter raises a question of trust. Dr. Fasbender maintains that 1/7th of all of the students that will be ultimately added, as a result of all the new developments, will report to school in the fall of 2007. This is in stark contrast to Pat Bleck, Prairie Grove’s village engineer, estimating that it will take 9-18 months for engineering approvals after preliminary plat approval. At this point Tall Grass has not even received preliminary plat approval. Therefore, Bleck estimates the developer will not start construction on roads, water and sewer for the developments until at least spring of 2007. Will 1/7th of all the new houses be started, completed and sold before the first day of school (Fall) in 2007? Why would a rationale person believe that this is a reasonable assumption?
I get the feeling that the real issues on the table are much larger than the referendum. What are the real issues? Are elected officials acting in a manner that demonstrates accountability and trust? Are hired school officials, such as Dr. Fasbender, acting in a manner that is consistent with the values and beliefs of District 46 citizens? Can we trust a school official that chooses not to disclose information which is relevant, material and important to citizens? Can we really trust school administration that has increased spending by nearly 70% in 6 years? During the same 6 year period, when school spending increased by 70%, Dr. Fasbender (and the elected school board) failed to disloce to the tax paying community a tax windfall. Does this suggest trustworthy leadership?
This is a very important referendum...it is time to send a message.
By
Anonymous, at 9:12 PM
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